Chapter five hundred and thirty seventh red leaves
Without the troublesome light bulbs of the third prince and the fourth prince, the guards also left. When the discussion between Ah Liu and Zhu Ying finally came to an end, when Zhang Shou learned from Ah Liu that this huge Long Live Mountain Peak was now actually
There were only three of them left, and he couldn't help but be a little surprised. But then he thought about it again, was the emperor still afraid that they would create something in the forbidden mountain in the palace?
They had already played on the swing just now. Although no one was bothering them, Zhu Ying was not interested in going there anymore. At this time, she encouraged Ah Liu to pick red leaves from the tree to play. In response, Zhang Shou looked and jumped up and down.
Ah Liu, with the beautiful red leaves, couldn't help but find it funny.
He has long passed the age of being naughty and mischievous, such as climbing trees and digging out bird's nests. He also lacks recognition of red leaves, a so-called romantic thing. Even the legend in ancient books that claims red leaves convey love is equally doubtful. However,
When he saw A Liu coming down from the tree, Zhu Ying picked out a large handful of red leaves, and then said something with a smile, he was still dumbfounded.
“Banzai Mountain’s red leaves are famous, so selling them in bulk is worth a lot of money!”
Seeing Zhang Shou's unprecedented stupidity, Zhu Ying couldn't help but smile: "In the past, grandfathers Yingzong and Ruizhong used to pick the red leaves from Wansui Mountain, dry them and then write them to reward people. The emperor found it troublesome, so most of them picked the leaves from Wansui Mountain.
After picking up the red leaves, I would put a small seal on them and give them to people as bookmarks. I have a lot of them at home. Ah Liu picked a handful of them, and I will go back and ask the emperor to stamp them."
Zhang Shou couldn't help but wipe his forehead: "Say Yingying, after it's stamped with the emperor's seal, you won't really sell it, will you?"
"Of course it's not selling something, it's exchanging something." A sly smile appeared on Zhu Ying's stunning face, "This bookmark won't last long, especially if the seal on it becomes faded or the condition deteriorates.
Well, even if it is a gift from the emperor, it can only be stored in a box, so only those who get this reward every year can afford to show off to others."
"There are so many things going on this year. Your Majesty seemed to have forgotten this one before. I went to ask for favors from each family and sent them there. Shouldn't they give me some remuneration for running errands?" Zhu Ying said confidently, and her smile was even brighter and brighter.
, "A promise from these people is very valuable. And most of them are the elders of the boys I wanted to recruit before."
"Otherwise, in the future, those boys will do a good job for me, but the elders in the family will come to pick peaches, wouldn't I be at a loss?"
Zhang Shou finally gave Zhu Ying a thumbs up with conviction. When he saw the eldest lady, he immediately became proud and boasted that he was already very capable. In the past, it was just because others had no vision, so he complimented him a few more words. Soon, he
He realized that Ah Liu had disappeared at some point, so he looked around for the boy, but suddenly he heard a word coming from behind.
"Miss, are these red leaves enough?"
Zhang Shou suddenly turned around and saw Ah Liu lifting up the hem of his front clothes with both hands. There was a pocket full of red leaves of all kinds. Faced with this scene, he couldn't help but be stunned when he saw Zhu Ying.
, couldn't help but burst out laughing: "I've only heard of harvesting wool, but this is the first time I've seen harvesting red leaves... Ah Liu, you won't turn any tree you harvest into baldness, right?"
This was the first time Ah Liu heard the term "plucking red leaves", and he could still understand the joking meaning in Zhang Shou's words. He immediately said to Zhu Ying seriously: "I only picked a dozen or so from each tree."
It’s just a leaf. The leaves will all fall off in the future anyway, so it’s a pity to waste them. I think these red leaves don’t need to be stamped with the emperor’s seal. Wouldn’t it be better for the young master and the eldest lady to send them to the public school as bookmarks?”
Zhang Shoudeng looked at Ah Liu in surprise: "You mean to say that in order to encourage students in public schools to devote themselves to learning, the emperor collected red leaves from the Long Live Mountain and gave them to everyone as bookmarks to encourage them to study hard?
"
This time it was Ah Liu who was dumbfounded: "I just think these red leaves are very beautiful. It would be a pity if they fell to the ground and turned into mud."
Zhu Ying was immediately amused by the chicken-and-duck talk between the master and servant: "Ah Liu, you don't want to waste good things, but Ah Shou, you want the Emperor's Enze Public School to kill two birds with one stone, which is quite good. But really, this is the case.
If so, this pocket of red leaves isn’t enough, right?”
Seeing Ah Liu immediately turning his head to stare at the red leaves all over the mountain, Zhang Shou quickly grabbed him, fearing that this sometimes sinister and sometimes stubborn boy would really go to pluck the red leaves from the Long Live Mountain. For this reason, he quickly came up with an idea
He made some remarks: "Good things are not suitable for everyone to share. After all, if you give away too much, it would be meaningless. Others will not think that the emperor has good intentions, but will only think that this thing is worthless."
Having said this, he asked Zhu Ying thoughtfully: "The red leaves that the emperor gave to the civil and military ministers were really only covered with a small seal without writing a word?" Is this too perfunctory?
"I heard that Grandpa Ruizhong always wrote the word "lucky", and he was very good at writing the word "lucky". The emperor was too lazy to write all of them. My father or the Duke of Chu had some words, and so did Grandpa Ge. The elders in the cabinet sometimes
Yes, sometimes not, as do the ministers and other nobles. The remaining civil and military ministers have to look at the emperor's mood. When he is happy, he writes "peace and happiness", and when he is unhappy, he doesn't say a word."
Well, it can be seen that Ruizhong is very good at winning people's hearts, and the emperor... is very willful!
Zhang Shou was so slanderous in his heart, but when Zhu Ying invited him and Ah Liu to go down the mountain together, and excitedly went to the palace to see the emperor, he couldn't help but look at Ah Liu's pocket full of hundreds of red leaves.
, thinking about what the people at the foot of the mountain would look like if they saw it. However, he soon discovered that he was really thinking too much.
Because when the three of them arrived at the Xuanwu Gate, even though Zhu Ying had a large handful of leaves in her hands and Ah Liu had a large bag of brightly colored leaves in her arms, the guards all pretended not to see them at all and let them go.
Entering the palace. However, they just passed by Qin'an Hall from Shunzhen Gate, and they happened to bump into a group of people heading towards them.
Recognizing Chu Kuan, Zhang Shou naturally said hello with a smile, and Zhu Ying even more carelessly shouted: "Eunuch Chu, are you coming from Qianqing Palace? Is the emperor free at the moment? Ah Shou and I are about to go
See him. If he is not free, we will go to Qingning Palace first."
Chu Kuan replied with a smile: "I came from Qianqing Palace, but the emperor is not here at the moment. I heard that I went to Qingning Palace to see the Queen Mother. Anyway, I don't have anything important to do, so I will go back to the Chief of Ceremonies first.
Already."
Seeing Zhu Ying shouting that it would be easier now, she happened to go to Qingning Palace, so she immediately dragged Zhang Shou and left. When Zhang Shou passed by him, he even nodded and said hello, while Ah Liu honestly
Holding a pocket of red leaves, Chu Kuan followed closely behind. Looking at this seemingly harmonious family, Chu Kuan couldn't help but his eyes twinkled.
To be fair, Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying were indeed a match made in heaven. Their appearance and demeanor were a perfect match. And he once had high hopes for Zhang Shou's ability in arithmetic, hoping that people could decipher Taizu's manuscripts. Now look at it.
Well, his judgment may be correct, but even if there is no problem with Zhang Shou's origins, there are nine out of ten problems with his inheritance.
In addition, Zhang Shou didn't respond at all to his repeated hints, so naturally he couldn't put all his bets on one person.
The Ming Dynasty can no longer have vassal wars as often as before. Anyway, the change of imperial power must be smooth. Yingzong and Ruizong were lucky enough to avoid chaos when they seized the throne. Although the current emperor is still young, he still needs to prepare for a rainy day. So.
, the eldest prince and the second prince, who were raised crookedly and had a stupid mother, must be excluded from the candidates for the Eastern Palace.
And that stupid woman can no longer occupy the throne and must be deposed! Only in this way can the succession of the throne be guaranteed to be smooth and orderly in the future.
If Zhang Shou knew what Chu Kuan was thinking, he would definitely mutter that it was because the emperor was not in a hurry and the eunuch was. But while walking on the road, he thought of the several interactions he had with Chu Kuan and couldn't help but whisper to Zhu Ying.
After inquiring about Chu Kuan's origins, Zhu Ying frowned and thought for a while, then softly gave an answer that shocked Zhang Shou.
"Eunuch Chu seems to be a heavenly eunuch. The Empress Dowager, who was pregnant with Liujia, picked it up at the gate of the temple when she went to the temple to pray for the emperor in her belly. She took pity on him and took him back. He grew up in Prince Rui's Mansion since he was a child. Grandpa Ruizong
I also looked at him differently when I was there. There are usually only four or five servants in the palace, so he, who is only five years older than the emperor, has followed the emperor since he was a child, and he has grown up watching the emperor."
"Don't look at him like this. He has practiced martial arts since he was a child. He is very good at martial arts. When he was only eight or nine years old, he stood up to protect the Queen Mother at a critical moment and almost died. Therefore, Grandpa Ruizhong trusted him very much, and so did the Queen Mother and the Emperor.
Trust him. Although he is powerful and has a lot of people under him, he does everything for the sake of the emperor. The person who admires Grandpa Taizu the most is not the emperor, but him."
Zhang Shou couldn't help but look extremely strange. Is this... a loyal, filial, and righteous eunuch? From the Han, Tang, and Song Dynasties, there have been as many such eunuchs as there have been so-called treacherous eunuchs. Fortunately, he was still afraid that this guy was all-pervasive, and he never asked
People asked about Chu Kuan.
But it was not too late to inquire at this time, so he heard from Zhu Ying a story about the growth of an industrious and optimistic eunuch - of course, because of the preference of the father and son, the emperors and the queen mother, as Ruizong came to power, Chu
After Kuan entered the palace, he never served as a lower-level eunuch from the beginning. He directly served as the chief eunuch and served as the chief eunuch.
It only took ten years for Chu Kuan, who was only 27 years old, to become the youngest eunuch Bingbi since the founding of the People's Republic of China. If it were not for the Ming Dynasty at this time, the number of eunuchs in the entire palace would not have exceeded 300.
Therefore, the Chief Supervisor of Ceremonies does not have many manpower at his disposal, and Bingbi does not have an internal minister who can compete with the foreign minister. His promotion will probably cause an uproar in the outer court.
"But Eunuch Chu has been doing this job for more than ten years, and he has never been red-faced with the person who used to print the palm. In addition, he is very impressive, and because of his relationship with the old Rirui Prince's Palace, he has relationships with many nobles.
Not bad. So his reputation both internally and externally is very good."
Hearing what Zhu Ying said, Zhang Shou couldn't help but admired: "This is really a legendary person."
Zhu Ying suddenly remembered something and quickly lowered her voice and said: "By the way, I heard Uncle Hua say that Eunuch Chu said many good things about you and praised you many times in front of the emperor."
Zhang Shou was really not happy about Chu Kuan's great love. He could only laugh and said: "That's really an honor for me. I remember that when we were in Yuehua Building for the first time, it was him who came out to rescue me, and later he even talked to me.
I told a lot of anecdotes."
He still remembered that there was only one central meaning in Chu Kuan's words, that the inheritance of the flame of fire depended on the eunuch. At that time, he thought it was flaunting, but looking at Chu Kuan's growth trajectory, if the person was not a hostile force, he would be thrown into the temple where the Queen Mother used to perform incense.
At the door, and then asked the Queen Mother to pick the person up and bury a nail in Prince Rui's Mansion, that person would indeed be an old member of Prince Rui's Mansion.
With Ah Liu beside them, Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying naturally walked all the way talking about Chu Kuan's gossip, and before they knew it, they arrived at Qingning Gate. Zhu Ying often visited this place, and Zhang Shou had been here several times before.
This time, the person who informed me seemed to fly in, and then flew out again, but said with a smile on his face: "The Queen Mother invites Dr. Zhang and Miss Zhu to come in."
Although Ah Liu was not mentioned, when Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying entered, Ah Liu was put in together. But he suddenly took two quick steps, shortened the distance between himself and Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying, and then used a very light
The voice said in Zhang Shou's ear: "Why did the Queen Mother invite the young master and the eldest lady in, and why didn't she mention the emperor?"
As soon as these words came out, Zhang Shou suddenly stopped. Seeing Zhu Ying happily continuing to walk in without noticing, he couldn't help but frown. In the Queen Mother's Qingning Palace, the Queen Mother personally gave orders. Isn't this normal?
?But then he thought again, since the emperor is here, according to the Queen Mother's habit of doing everything according to the emperor's wishes after returning to power, it should be the emperor's order again.
So, he quickly continued walking inside, but without looking back he asked: "Why, Ah Liu, what do you think is wrong?"
Ah Liu held the bag of red leaves as if no one else was around and said bluntly: "I think the emperor may not want to see you and the eldest lady."
The emperor doesn't want to see them? That's not true, right?
Zhang Shou originally thought that Ah Liu's answer seemed a bit unlikely. However, when he actually entered the Qingning Palace, he saw that the Queen Mother on the throne was still smiling as always, but the Emperor beside the Queen Mother had a full face.
He was so angry that when he and Zhu Ying came in, they turned their heads and ignored them. He couldn't help but sigh at Ah Liu's sensitivity.
Sure enough, when he bowed in salute, he heard the emperor ask stiffly: "What are you doing here?"
This time, even Zhu Ying noticed that something was wrong with the emperor's attitude. She turned around and looked at the emperor strangely, until the emperor snorted in obvious displeasure, then she quickly came to the Queen Mother and asked in a low voice: "The Queen Mother
, is the emperor angry?"
The queen mother cast a sidelong glance at the emperor who continued to show her shame in front of the younger generation. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of evil she had done by indulging such a bad-tempered son. But even so, she still had to do it.
Zhu Ying and Zhang Shou pretended to be nonchalant in front of them, and immediately laughed and said: "Don't mention it, he is like this, he gets angry with me whenever he disagrees."
After very skillfully avoiding the important issue, she immediately changed the topic and asked: "Why are you picking so many red leaves?"
Zhu Ying chattered about what Ah Liu said and Zhang Shou's thoughts. The Queen Mother immediately said decisively: "This is a good idea, and it can just inspire students. But you can't favor one thing over another. In addition to the public school, the Imperial College is not as good as rewarding.
There are a lot of red leaves in Mount Longzai, but it doesn’t matter if you pick them all, it’s just one missing piece of scenery.”
She glanced at the emperor sternly and silenced his complaints about generosity. Then she praised Zhang Shou kindly. Even Ah Liu, who was still carrying the pile of red leaves after entering the door,
, and won a few compliments from her. But after these words of affirmation, she suddenly said: "Zhang Shou, the old salted fish you mentioned before who brought back cotton seeds and cinchona tree seeds from overseas, now